Neepawa's Victoria Quilts reaches milestone
- Details
- Published on Tuesday, July 17, 2018
Submitted
Neepawa Banner & Press
On Tuesday, Margaret VanBuskirk picked up a quilt from the Victoria’s Quilts Neepawa office. Soon, Margaret will knock on the front door of a home in the Neepawa area to deliver a handmade quilt to give to the person who lives there. The person has cancer, as does everyone who receives one of the quilts from Victoria’s Quilts.
This particular quilt, however, marks a symbolic milestone: it is the 500th quilt that the Neepawa Branch of Victoria’s Quilts Canada has delivered.
The deliveries are all different, says Margaret. “Some people will visit for 5 minutes, others for an hour. They will talk about their garden, their grandchildren, the trip they took — anything but their illness. Others will say things to the person delivering the quilt that they can’t say to anyone else, because they know they’re never going to see this person again. Most of the visits end in a hug with the recipient expressing their appreciation for the gift of love and warmth.
One recipient provided these words in appreciation: “I received this beautiful quilt this afternoon and cannot begin to thank you for this most beautiful gift. I am full of emotion and thankfulness. I am thankful to have such kind and loving friends who thought to have this quilt given to me and for the many loving hands that created this work of art. I can never repay you for the love and support you have shown to me.”
The idea behind VQC is simple: to provide handmade quilts, at no charge, to people with cancer, regardless of the type, the stage it is at or where in the country they live in. The Neepawa Branch is the only branch of VQC in Manitoba, which means we deliver quilts to cancer patients across the entire province.
The Neepawa chapter began in 2013 when we delivered our first quilt and in 2014 we delivered 27 quilts. From there it has snowballed tremendously, to the point that we have delivered over 100 quilts in 2018 to date.
The membership has grown to almost 30 ladies helping out with the various stages of quilt making. Some members help during quilting bees, some help at the office, some deliver quilts. Many of the members also work on the quilts at home. In addition to our local group, we have ladies from Steinbach, Waldersee, Plumas, Gladstone, Brandon, Minnedosa, Fisher Branch and Portage all making quilt tops for us. We would not be able to provide quilts too so many people without the support of all these ladies.
The members of the Neepawa Branch of VQC have comforted and soothed the spirits of many people battling cancer, but we have our own spirits lifted by the fun and friendship we share working together. In addition to “quilting bees,” we have a dedicated group that gets together every Wednesday at the new office to work on quilt production. This includes cutting kits, sewing tops and backing and organizing deliveries. Quilts are made of 100 percent cotton fabric with a flannel backing and cotton batting.
We receive significant support from Lorna Lehn from Country Lane quilters in St. Rose. Lorna offers her long arm quilting service to us at a nominal fee. Without Lorna’s help, the cost of a quilt would be greatly increased. We estimate that the total cost to create one quilt is $100.00.
In order to raise funding to purchase supplies, we have held a stew fundraiser, and have appreciated receiving donations of money from service clubs and individual people. We also receive donations of fabric. This year we were the lucky recipients of grants from the Winnipeg Community Foundation, the Beautiful Plains Community Foundation, the Big Grass Foundation, and the North Norfolk Foundation.
To make a donation of fabric or quilt tops please call Audrey at ( 204) 476-5294. All quilts must be cotton with a flannel backing and must be of a certain size; so it is best to contact us before you make a donation.
To request a quilt for someone with cancer, all that is needed is the name, address and telephone number of the person receiving the quilt and the person making the request. To request a quilt please check the website: www.victoriasquilts canada.com.
Monetary donations can be made on the website or you can contact Dianne Nordstrom, Box 285, Neepawa, R0J 1H0. As a non-profit charitable organization, VQC is registered with Canada Customs and Revenue Agency and provides receipts for financial donations of $20 or more.
